70s newsmakers Sue Feinberg Adams ’73 is the 2010 president of the New England Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association. Adams, a professional interior designer for over two decades, owns Sue Adams Interiors in Andover, Mass. F Priscilla Bondy Dube ’77 was recognized by her peers in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for divorce and family law. Dube, a partner with Bergeron, Paradis & Fitzpatrick LLC in Burlington, Vt., is involved with family court and is regularly an acting magistrate for child support. F Stephen E. Cummings ’77 joined the board of directors of NorthStar Realty Finance Group. A former vice president with Wachovia, Cummings Margaret Matheson’79 brings 30 years of investment banking experience to the board, which looks forward to “drawing on his experience, perspective, and business wisdom in helping to grow our company.” F Margaret Matheson ’79 was nominated to Maine’s Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. Matheson was recommended by leaders of Maine’s House and Senate following 16 years as revisor of statutes and principal attorney at the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
milestones Deaths: Mark Chamberlain ’71, Nov. 19, 2009, in Placerville, Calif., at 59. * Timothy J. Orcutt ’72, March 3, 2008, in Boston, Mass., at 57. * Gwynelle Dismukes ’73, Oct. 3, 2009, in Flat Rock, N.C., at 56. * Peter D. Suorsa ’76, Feb. 3, 2010, in Coventry, R.I., at 55.
Boghossian at paulboghossian@gmail.com if you would like to help with the planning. Y I’m very saddened to report that we’ve lost our classmate Peter Suorsa, who died from an accident while ice skating on a local pond in Rhode Island. Peter was a classic outdoorsman, always with a big smile for everyone. For more information and to share remembrances visit our Facebook group, “Colby College Class of 1976.” Finally, please be sure to contribute to the Colby Fund. If nothing else, a contribution is a fine way to remember Nancy Wilson Maltez, Martha Dewey, and Peter Suorsa. A safe, healthy, and happy spring to you all!
1977
Kevin Farnham classnews1977@alum.colby.edu Jane Hoffman is a college admissions officer and founder of www.CollegeAdvice-101. com. She offers Colby colleagues an hour of time without charge. Jane’s son is a happy freshman at Oberlin; her daughter graduated from Smith and will study interior design at Parsons. Y Alix Levintow Howell lives in Lyme, N.H., and researches HIV-1 infection at the Veterans Affairs Hospital/Dartmouth Medical School. Her second child recently graduated from college and also works at the hospital. She spends lots of time driving Caroline, her hockey-playing 14-year-old, to games. Jonathan Fenton’s 13-year-old daughter, Katie, plays on the same hockey team, and “she’s a phenomenal goalie for a seventh grader” (quote is from Alix, not the doting parent!). Jonathan teaches
fifth grade social studies and science at Marion Cross School in Norwich, Vt. His wife, Corinne, is school receptionist, and his son, Jonathan, is applying to colleges in Mass. Y Mark Lyons, my predecessor as class correspondent, decided to “take pity” on me by sending news. He lives in Hampton, N.H., and works at Wheelabrator Technologies developing renewable energy power plants. Mark’s daughter Vanessa is a sophomore at Colby. Mark is a member of the Alumni Council, attends Colby athletic events, and sometimes challenges current students on the athletic field (using, for example, his still-accurate fastball). Y Bob Southwick is working away, finishing details on a 14,500-square-foot “house” in Dennis, Mass., with Cape Cod Bay in the back yard. He is eager for the weather to turn so he can “bring out the big Harley for some real fun.” Y Dave Bogan was never able to forget the excitement of working on lunar lander games with me in Colby’s computer room: since the mid-1980s he’s worked in the IT world. Currently he’s CIO for CSC’s outsourcing business, working primarily from home in Cincinnati. He says, “What I learned [at Colby] stands me in good stead each day. My work is a lot more about thinking, writing, and analyzing problems than it is about the latest whiz-bang technology. So I guess there is still hope for all those English majors out there.” Y Deborah Buccina has been busy “lawyering and mothering.” She practices in Portland, Maine, and sees several Colby grads regularly. Her older son is applying to colleges, but (to her dismay) not to Colby (he wants a different
part of the country). Her second son is in eighth grade. Y Leslie Warren van Berkum has been busy rebuilding the nursery she and her husband, Peter, own in Deerfield, N.H. It was hit hard by a tornado in 2008, destroying 800 trees. On the bright side, Van Berkum Nursery won a silver medal from the MA Horticultural Society for outstanding service to horticulture in New England. Leslie and Peter have three children in college. Y Valerie (Jones ’76) and Steve Roy are now grandparents. Lily Louise was born April 13, 2009, to their son Dan (a Hobart graduate) and his wife. Valerie is already planning Lily’s first skating lesson. Y Qaiser Khan transferred to the World Bank’s regional office in Accra, Ghana, where he leads programs in education, health, and social protection for Ghana, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. “After six years working on Asia and before that eight on the Middle East, I’m enjoying the rewards of getting basic services to the most needy in the world.” Y Dick Conant lives in Mystic, Conn. He is a federal employee doing work that involves environmental permitting. His middle son is at UVM majoring in conservation biology and doing a lot of skiing. Y Charlie Burch was presented the National Secondary School’s 2009 Man of the Year award at the most recent U.S. Lacrosse national convention in Baltimore. Charlie is currently top assistant coach at the University of New England. Y Leslie Ramsay volunteers with Girls Inc. of New Hampshire, teaching young girls how to improve their reading skills. She’s been happily soul-mated with Douglas Draper for almost 20 years. They are renovating their arts-and-crafts home in Manchester’s north end, bringing it back to it’s natural beauty.
1978
Janet Santry Houser Lea Jackson Morrissey classnews1978@alum.colby.edu Dan Driscoll was working at the St. Rock Clinic in the low mountains above Carrefour in Haiti just days before the earthquake hit. He writes: “Just came back Saturday from working… near the epicenter of the quake. … It was my first experience in a place so impoverished. There was little water access, no police presence, and little infrastructure. The people were dignified, polite, beautiful, and appreciative. They have amazing fortitude and resiliency, but they will need a lot of help from others and some divine intervention to get through this.” Dan was interviewed about his experience on WBZ-TV. Y Last fall Karen Keithline Diop moved to Montpelier, Vt., for a new job with Project Harmony International. Her son graduated from UVM and “is following in my footsteps by doing a year with AmeriCorps working with refugees as he waits for a Peace Corps posi-
tion.” Karen caught up with Lynn Baldwin Dallas, who lives in Connecticut. Y David Crane lives in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts with his wife, Claudia, and their dogs, Oliver and Belle. He works as an arborist and screenwriter and is in preproduction on an independent film, Based on a True Story, which was named one of the top 20 dramatic scripts at the 2008 Austin Film Festival. Y Abi Rome lives in the Washington, D.C., area working in ecotourism and sustainable travel as well as doing some freelance writing. In November she organized and led a successful ecotour to Peru and is offering one to Ecuador in June through Tierra Vista Tours and Consulting. Y Greg Jordan and his wife, Betsy, live in Carlsbad, Calif. Their son Alex is in college and enjoys skateboarding and film; Gregory is in high school playing tennis, baseball, and soccer; Colby is in junior high and plays basketball, soccer, and videogames. Greg looks forward to visiting Colby in May for his nephew’s graduation. Y Marty Connolly “left the restaurant business at the Billings Petroleum Club and did a short stint as a legal assistant to the former public defender in Billings, Mont. That was much more up my alley, given my background as a former investigative reporter.” After that he worked as a night auditor in Billings. He caught up with Jim Thrall, who has been working at the University of Bridgeport in the religion department. Jim is married to Grace Coddington Thrall, who is with the psychiatry department at Duke. They have two daughters. Y Tony Lopez says life is busy but good. Tony is a commanding officer of a Navy security unit and the oldest ensign in the Navy. He constantly travels the U.S. and overseas. He has been married to Pok sun Lopez for 25 years, which he says is the smartest thing he ever did. Their son, Chris, is a junior at the University of Tennessee, and they have two Dobermans. Y John and Pam Cleaves Devine’s daughter, Kim ’06, works for an advertising agency in Portland, Maine, while aggressively pursuing applications for a master’s in health and nutrition. John and Alicia Rodriguez recently had lunch in Maryland. Alicia is president of her own business, which specializes in executive coaching. Alicia and her husband, Gerry Connolly ’75, have a teenage son.
1979
Cheri Bailey Powers classnews1979@alum.colby.edu Lou Chong happily reports that his oldest daughter, Vanessa, has been accepted to Colby early decision for the Class of 2014. He feels old (but proud). Lou and his wife, Patty, reside in Wellesley, Mass., with their three daughters. Around the holidays Lou and Art Radcliffe got together for drinks COLBY / SPRING 2010 45